Explore Yosemite and Zion National Parks with Noah Justice

Because of its amazing beauty and size, Yosemite was one of the first scenic areas of land set aside for the enjoyment of the public as a national park in the United States. The amazing granite cliffs are a part of the Sierra Nevada mountains formed by igneous rock which some researchers now feel only took weeks or months to form.

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Because of its amazing beauty and size, Yosemite was one of the first scenic areas of land set aside for the enjoyment of the public as a national park in the United States. The amazing granite cliffs are a part of the Sierra Nevada mountains formed by igneous rock which some researchers now feel only took weeks or months to form.

In this episode you'll learn:

why the valley is evidence of erosion from a global Flood

how only one major ice age may have occurred

how Zion Canyon’s layers, arches, & hanging valleys formed.

This series is produced by Kyle Justice, whose work has appeared on such networks as National Geographic, ESPN, and the Outdoor Channel, along with his creative homeschool-family team. Teen host Noah Justice serves as your guide to truth on the ground at national parks and other geologic locations, bringing you an educational and entertaining adventure!

Our family loves (loves, loves) exploring God’s beautiful creation and we’ve been to many of these sites in the western United States, which makes learning about the science behind the amazing nature all the more special for us.

I’ve reviewed each of the ten Awesome Science DVDs independently with purchase links below each one.

About the Videos

I love the emphasis of this series on viewing scientific data through the lens of biblical history, and upon the gospel message in each video. Noah Justice discusses the scientific data for each area, explaining how secular scientists interpret the evidence. He then explains the way Creation scientists interpret data through the lens of biblical history before comparing the evidence for each viewpoint. Noah Justice also talks about how the catastrophic, global Flood of Noah explains the geology and other science (including chemistry and microbiology) of each area. At the end of each video, he explains that God once judged the earth through the global flood. Jesus will return, and God will judge the earth again, this time by fire (2 Peter). He explains the gospel and the need to repent and follow Christ.

Noah Justice is ages 14-17 in the ten videos so far (twelve videos by the time you read this!), and he does a wonderful job of presenting some tough scientific concepts in the course of just 30 minutes for each video. The first six videos have a coordinating study guide with vocabulary, worksheets, and additional written information to go with the video. With the depth of information involved, I’d suggest a copy for each student! This series–with the study guides–is an excellent choice for science over the course of a year for grades 4-9 or so.

The Awesome Science series is produced by Noah’s father, Kyle Justice, whose work has appeared on such networks as National Geographic, ESPN, and the Outdoor Channel, along with his creative homeschool-family team.

Explore Yosemite and Zion National Parks (Episode 4)

In the fourth Awesome Science video, Noah Justice takes us first to Yosemite National Park in California. It covers 1190 spare miles, set aside by Abraham Lincoln. The park has granite cliffs lining the Yosemite Valley. Noah Justice talks about the secular theory of the granite formation versus the Creation Science view of how these rocks were formed. As in his other videos, Noah Justice explains aspects of geology and evolutionary science using scientific terms, and diagrams. Here, he talks about uniformitarianism versus catastrophes, delving into rock dating and the assumptions that uniformitarianism uses for dating. He explains how a global flood and other large catastrophes affect these dating assumptions.

He then talks about how the Yosemite Valley was cut. Noah Justice takes on the idea that the Merced River or glaciers were able to erode the massive valley. He explains the effects a global flood would have on cutting valleys, and how each valley formation would look. He also talks about the Great Ice Age, and the evidence we see of that. He explains the temperature changes and volcanic activity we would have seen following the Flood, as well as why this would have occurred. Secular scientists don’t take catastrophic events into account, which complicates their models, as they base their assumptions only on current conditions. Noah Justice explains that the Ice Age following the Flood could have taken only 70 years to disappear. Creation Scientists believe there were ice dams that collapsed, causing many of the valleys of the West Coast. This, of course, caused more temperature equalization, looking like four separate glaciations.

We then travel to Zion National Park in southern Utah, a part of the Grand Staircase. It covers 229 square miles, so is fairly small. The park was inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years. It’s a beautiful park with jutting red cliffs, and rolling sandstone mesas. There are nine separate geological formations in the park. Noah Justice explains how the giant chunk of sandstone in the park matches the sandstone of the Appalachians. How did the sandstone move across the nation? Well, during a global flood, of course. He also addresses the canyon at Zion, and talks about how it could have been cut in a very short period of time, and the evidence for it being a young canyon.

We get to see the eroded river bed as well, and learn about the science behind its formation. My boys especially liked that section and have declared that we must visit this section of the Grand Staircase soon so that we, too, can wade in the river channels.

I want to thank Master Books for providing me with the Awesome Science with Noah Justice DVD set in return for my honest opinion.
(Posted on 1/12/2016)